Insidious
Year: 2010
Director: James Wan
Starring: Rose Byrne, Angus Sampson, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell & Patrick Wilson
Runtime: 103 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 29/10/20
Director: James Wan
Starring: Rose Byrne, Angus Sampson, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell & Patrick Wilson
Runtime: 103 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 29/10/20
I last watched Insidious shortly after it came out and was one of my first experiences of modern jump scare cinema. Prior to that point I’d almost exclusively stuck to psychological horror, slasher flicks, or gory films like Saw and Hostel. Considering how James Wan & Leigh Whannell were the ones to really get me interested in the horror genre with Saw, I suppose it’s only fitting that my first real dip into films that deal with demonic possession was also from those two. Long story short I didn’t really like it but I lacked the ability to put my finger on why all those years ago, but now I’m older and Insidious just placed second on the ‘scariest films of all time’ study conducted by BroadbandChoices, so I thought I’d give it another shot and check my reservations at the door. It’s safe to say my opinion of the film has not changed.
Insidious introduces us to the Lambert family who have recently moved into a new house. The mother, Renai (Rose Byrne), notices some strange phenomena in the house including voices coming through the baby monitor and possessions being moved around. The eldest son Dalton slips into a comatose state one morning but medical professionals cannot understand why this has happened as his body shows no signs of being in a coma, other than him being unable to wake up or move. The stress at home of Dalton being unwell and Renai beginning to mentally unravel causes the father, Josh (Patrick Wilson) to distance himself from the house.
After claiming to have encountered paranormal entities Renai convinces Josh to move to a new house again, but whatever was tormenting them in the other house has come with them. So, with the help of Josh’s mother the couple reach out to a group of paranormal investigators to help them understand what is happening and how to stop it.
Insidious actually has a pretty great setup. Whilst the haunted house premise and demonic possession has been done to death, even in 2010 when this film released, Insidious manages to keep it fresh by presenting the first half of the film the way it does. Both Byrne and Wilson provide engaging performances throughout and their tenuous relationship is believable, particularly once their son becomes unwell. This combined with the uncomfortable atmosphere the films sets gears you up for a great second half premise where Josh must cross into a supernatural plain to rescue his son from demons.
Insidious introduces us to the Lambert family who have recently moved into a new house. The mother, Renai (Rose Byrne), notices some strange phenomena in the house including voices coming through the baby monitor and possessions being moved around. The eldest son Dalton slips into a comatose state one morning but medical professionals cannot understand why this has happened as his body shows no signs of being in a coma, other than him being unable to wake up or move. The stress at home of Dalton being unwell and Renai beginning to mentally unravel causes the father, Josh (Patrick Wilson) to distance himself from the house.
After claiming to have encountered paranormal entities Renai convinces Josh to move to a new house again, but whatever was tormenting them in the other house has come with them. So, with the help of Josh’s mother the couple reach out to a group of paranormal investigators to help them understand what is happening and how to stop it.
Insidious actually has a pretty great setup. Whilst the haunted house premise and demonic possession has been done to death, even in 2010 when this film released, Insidious manages to keep it fresh by presenting the first half of the film the way it does. Both Byrne and Wilson provide engaging performances throughout and their tenuous relationship is believable, particularly once their son becomes unwell. This combined with the uncomfortable atmosphere the films sets gears you up for a great second half premise where Josh must cross into a supernatural plain to rescue his son from demons.
Unfortunately, the execution of that second half completely destroys all the good the first half of the film did in setup. The first warning signs appear when Leigh Whannell appears as one half of a comedy double act, sorry I mean paranormal investigators. These two characters are constantly bickering with each other and it drains all tension from the film because despite there being a demonic threat about these two can’t help but argue about who is more important in their job role. They’re also dressed like Laurel & Hardy which doesn’t help matters.
Then once Josh does cross into the other dimension, known as The Further, the tone seems to shift into something akin to a pantomime. All the demons are wearing the most ridiculous outfits and the use of smoke is laughable because it makes the place look like a set from Phantom of the Opera. You then get the main evil demon that looks like Darth Maul took a side gig in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Cats’ on Broadway, with its skintight black jumpsuit and furry legwarmers.
The grand finale of the whole film is topped off even further by Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum (Whannel & his partner) doing a skit with flashlights that get progressively larger to an absurd size as everyone is chased around the house by the pantomime demons. Literally all its missing is the Benny Hill theme and a laugh track and I’d honestly mistake this film for a slapstick comedy rather than a horror film.
With that kind of performance in the final act I can’t understand why anyone would consider this film scary. The jump scares are similarly uninspired with many of them falling flat because there’s simply no build to them, sometimes it even seems as though the composer fell asleep on the high notes of his keyboard for a second or so because randomly you’ll get a shrill high pitched sound to indicate a jump scare but nothing happens, or it’s several seconds late after the scare has already taken place.
There is a single moment in the entire film where a jump scare is done well, and I’d argue it’s one of the best examples of how to do a jump scare properly. It comes around the midpoint of the film when Josh’s mum is explaining a dream she had. You’re expecting the jump scare to happen in the dream sequence, especially because you know the demons are present in the dream, however the scare actually occurs in the dining room where the story is being told and it will catch you off guard because the pacing and tension are controlled so well, plus the scare doesn’t come from where you’re expecting it too, instead it occurs in what you’re associating with a safe space.
Insidious is little more than wasted potential. The first act and the beginning of the second are so strong that it is so disappointing when the film takes a complete nosedive into stupidity come the second half. Had it continued building on top of the foundations laid in the first half the film could have been very enjoyable. Almost all the scares are too obviously telegraphed and fail to be scary because of the pantomime demon attire. It all just comes off as silly rather than scary. So how Insidious makes it to number 2 on BroadbandChoice’s study I really struggle to understand; I simply fail to see how someone could be scared by a film that so closely resembles Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals about frisky felines and silent movie comedy skits.
Then once Josh does cross into the other dimension, known as The Further, the tone seems to shift into something akin to a pantomime. All the demons are wearing the most ridiculous outfits and the use of smoke is laughable because it makes the place look like a set from Phantom of the Opera. You then get the main evil demon that looks like Darth Maul took a side gig in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Cats’ on Broadway, with its skintight black jumpsuit and furry legwarmers.
The grand finale of the whole film is topped off even further by Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum (Whannel & his partner) doing a skit with flashlights that get progressively larger to an absurd size as everyone is chased around the house by the pantomime demons. Literally all its missing is the Benny Hill theme and a laugh track and I’d honestly mistake this film for a slapstick comedy rather than a horror film.
With that kind of performance in the final act I can’t understand why anyone would consider this film scary. The jump scares are similarly uninspired with many of them falling flat because there’s simply no build to them, sometimes it even seems as though the composer fell asleep on the high notes of his keyboard for a second or so because randomly you’ll get a shrill high pitched sound to indicate a jump scare but nothing happens, or it’s several seconds late after the scare has already taken place.
There is a single moment in the entire film where a jump scare is done well, and I’d argue it’s one of the best examples of how to do a jump scare properly. It comes around the midpoint of the film when Josh’s mum is explaining a dream she had. You’re expecting the jump scare to happen in the dream sequence, especially because you know the demons are present in the dream, however the scare actually occurs in the dining room where the story is being told and it will catch you off guard because the pacing and tension are controlled so well, plus the scare doesn’t come from where you’re expecting it too, instead it occurs in what you’re associating with a safe space.
Insidious is little more than wasted potential. The first act and the beginning of the second are so strong that it is so disappointing when the film takes a complete nosedive into stupidity come the second half. Had it continued building on top of the foundations laid in the first half the film could have been very enjoyable. Almost all the scares are too obviously telegraphed and fail to be scary because of the pantomime demon attire. It all just comes off as silly rather than scary. So how Insidious makes it to number 2 on BroadbandChoice’s study I really struggle to understand; I simply fail to see how someone could be scared by a film that so closely resembles Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals about frisky felines and silent movie comedy skits.